>Another, more precise technique, is to simply spot-meter the brightest area in which detail is important, and simply close the lens and/or shorten the shutter speed by a total of 2 1/3 to 2 2/3 stops, placing the area into Zone VII.
* Or, to keep it really simple, set the camera's exposure compensation to its maximum, -2.0 stops and meter from the bright areas. (This will set the bright area on Exposure Zone VII.
I may be wrong but as far as I know when one takes a reading of a hilite and takes a shot with that reading the hilite is rendered as middle gray, therefore if one wants to place that part of the subject in lets say zone VII is necessary to open two stops to go from rendered middle gray to textured white.
In my opinion if I were to follow your advise I´ll end up with the metered zone place in III. From VII to V by the fact of taken a reading of the hilite, all meters behave that way, everything measured is converted to zone V, if then I stop down two stops then I go from zone V to zone III.
Regards
Jose